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* CONST ANTINE. 324 CONSTANTINOPLE. CONSTANTINE, Baths of. Enormous baths built by Coiislanlim', I'overing nearly the whole breadth of the Quirinal Hill, in Rome. The only extant remains are some foundations seen in excavating the Via Nazionale, and a few bloeks of marble now in the adjoining Colonna Gardens. The baths were demolished by Paul V., in IGIO, and their site is now occupied by the Quirinal and Rospigliosi palaces. The figures known as the "Horse Tamers," from which Monte Cavallo is named, stood in front of the baths, and here was found the colossal statue of Constantine. CONSTAN'TINO'PLE (Lat. Constantinopo- Us, from Gk. Kofarai/Thov iriXis, Konstantinou polls, city of Constantine, Turk. Istambul or Ijtambiil, from Gk. eis Trivn-6i.v, CIS ten pulin, or, in the corrupted dialect of the people, 4t tAm jSAXiv, cs lam holin, to the city). The capital and largest city of the Ottoman Empire, situated in the extreme southeastern part of Eurojieau Turkey, on the sliores of the Sea of ilarmora, the Bosporus, and the Golden Horn, a long, nar- row inlet, extending in a northwestern direction from the Bosporus; latitude 4i° N"., longitude 28° 59' E. (Map : Turkey in Europe, G 4) . With its many mosques, kiosks, and extensive gardens, it presents from the sea a magnificent appear- ance, which is greatly enhanced by the imposing picturesqueness of the situation. Constantinople proper, or Stambul. occupies a triangular jjcn- insula. The suburbs of Galata and Pera are situated on the northern and opposite shoi'e of the Golden Horn, which is spanned by two iron pontoon bridges. Stambul is surrounded by partly ruined walls, the most famous of which is the Theodusian double wall dating from 447. The fortifications have strong towers, and are pierced by nrniierous historic gates. The streets are narrow, crooked, and without sidewalks. There are countless house-gardens and man_v beautifvil cemeteries. The houses, usually of one story, are mostly built of wood, though some portions of the city, since the great fires of 1805, 1806, and 1870, have been recon- structed in a mo<lern fireproof style. Jlany fine public buildings have latterly been erected : new suburbs have been built, and old ones enlarged and improved. On the whole, however, the rate of growth and the extent and character of the improvements of the city are svirpassed in nearly every other European capital. The architectural beauty of Constantinople itself lies conspicuously in its mosques, 379 in number, among which that of Agia Sofia (orig- inally the Church of Saint Sophia) is most famous. The present edifice, 250 by 235 feet in size, was begun in 532 by Justinian, and vas completed in five years. It is constructed of brick, faced with marble. Its shape is that of a cross. While its outward appear- ance is not in keeping with the grandeur and charm of its interior, it is regarded as one of the most magnificent of ecclesiastical edifices. The dome in the centre rises 180 feet high (from the ground), and is 108 feet in diameter. It is supported by four arches. Within the jnosque are 107 pillars of gigantic proportions — 40 on the ground floor and 67 above. They are of green marble and rod porphyry, with capitals in the Byzantine style. The walls were orig- inally decorated with beautiful mosaics, which have been either partly effaced or partly covered up with inscriptions from the Koran. After the conversion of the church into a mosque by Mo- hammed II., in 1453, four minarets were added, and the golden cross on the dome was replaced by the crescent. The Mosque of Solyman covers a site nearly as large as that of Saint Sophia, and, like most mosques, is surrounded by a well-shaded court. It was built in 1550-06, by the Sultan Solyman. It has four minarets, and is surmounted by a dome somewhat higher than that of Saint Sophia. The marble decorations in the interior are magnificent. The Mosque of Achmet I. was built in 1609-14, and exceeds in dimensions the Mosque of Solyman, but is inferior to the latter in design and in ornamentation. Among other mosques may be mentioned those of Mohannned II., Bajazet II., Selim I., Yaui-Jami, and Mur- i-Osmani. Secular buildings of historic interest are: The Castle of the Seven Towers, once a State prison where a number of dethroned sviltans were exe- cuted ; the hippodrome, completed by Constan- tine, the scene of public festivals as well as of popular uprisings; and the old Seraglio, with its extensive gardens and beautiful kio.sks and pal- aces. There are also interesting ruins of ancient royal palaces. The present abode of the Sultan, the Serai Humayun, is in reality a little city whose walls inclose mosques, administrative buildings, dwelling-houses and gardens. It is over a mile and a half in circumference. In royal grandeur, however, it does not equal the residences of many other European rulers. Its outer gate is called 'The Sublime Porte.' The bazaars of Constantinople are very nu- merous. The chief of them, the Grand Bazaar, somewhat injured by an earthquake in 1894, occupies a large number of narrow, vaulted alleys, and contains about 3000 shops. It is filled with merchandise of great variety and beauty, and presents in daytime one of the finest sights of the city. The bazaars, however, are gradually losing their importance, the wealthier classes preferring to make their purchases in the French shops on the Grande Rue in Pera. Galata, situated on the eastern shore of the Golden Horn, is the business port of Constanti- nople. Here are found the warehouses, banking houses, exchanges, and the custom-house. The town is built of stone, and the streets in some sections are new and regular. The Galata Tower, formerly known as the Tower of Christ, is 150 feet high, and is divided into several stories and surrounded by galleries. It serves as a fire- signal station. Pera, the foreigners' quarter and the most modern part of Constantinople, lies beyond Ga- lata. Here are the foreign embassies and the residences of the Europeans. Here also is the Grande Rue, lined with fashionable shops and hotels. Pera has a fine park, barracks, and sev- eral cemeteries which are occasionally used as festival grounds. Administration. — As to government, Constan- tinople, including the town of Scutari across the Bosporus, forms a separate district, imder the administration of a prefect. It is probably the only city in Turkey where the police force is not recruited from the regular army. The fire de- partment is utterly inadequate, and the sys- tem of alarms used is most primitive. Sys- tematic street-cleaning is attempted only in the European section of the city. In the native